RESIDENCE

noun: the place where one actually lives; dwelling, abode, home

“…God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.” 1 John 4:16

 Recently we moved our son into his college dorm. A residence hall. It’s nothing fancy, and the bathroom down the hall is apparently “the worst.” Sigh. But his room is great. A decent place to live while he goes to school far away. His will keep his stuff there, do most of his work there, sleep and relax and communicate from there. It will be his center, his base.

His home.

Home is our comfortable place. Our safe place to land after a rough journey or a tough day. Home is where we can rest and feel and be ourselves.

John tells us that not only is God love, but he invites us to live in this life of love. He wants us to “take up permanent residence in it”. He wants us to live in him and let him live in us.

So how do we make our home in a life of love?

What does it look like to live in God and God in us?

I think it looks like our favorite spot.

Maybe it is a wooden chair on a quiet porch with a peaceful view; maybe it is a humble kitchen table surrounded with good friends; maybe it is a family room filled with young and old–talking, laughing, working, and playing; maybe it is a cozy bed with all the pillows and blankets piled high, or maybe it is all of these…

When we are settled and content, when we are at home in God’s love; love is our comfort zone. Love is the place we start and end our day. It’s where we find rest, where we find nourishment, and where we connect with our friends and families. Sometimes it’s noisy and sometimes it’s quiet. Sometimes it’s messy and sometimes everything is in place. Sometimes it’s easy and sometimes it’s really hard.

But when we live in God, and he lives in us, our hearts are full. Love is our center, our base. And everything we do can come from this place of goodness and patience and unselfishness. We can pray, think, sing, dance, cook, teach, help, clean, sleep, read, talk, and plan, and God will be right there in it with us.

And because we get to live with him in this amazing love, it’s always good to be home.

Invite him in:

Allow Jesus to show you around in the abundant house of love that he has for you to live in. You can have a permanent residence here–go ahead and choose your favorite spot!  Let him help you to center your thoughts and actions in this beautiful place, and trust his love to come in and flow out of everything you do.